Pcfw/SilentAction
<< PCFW Let's build working strategies where, once we act on them personally, they will ultimately lead to us succeeding in our shared progressive goals. First, it's pretty clear we're all pretty much on the same page in that our nation, state and local areas need to change directions from over-consuming, money oriented, environmentally destructive and politically repressive behaviors to sustainable, renewable and environmentally benign (if not restorative) behaviors, along with demonstrating and demanding support for civil rights and social justice. This requires far more than changing the legislative and executive forces currently overruling our civil rights, destroying our environment and stealing our children's futures. It also takes far more than us venting our frustrations. It requires personal participation by making those adjustments in our own lives while simultaneously doing all in our power to change the corporate controlled process that governs our lives today. To the end, WE have to set the examples. Personally minimizing our use of those resources that are contributing to this situation is critical. While opening channels of dialogue that share and educate, as opposed to alienate and criticize are also obvious approaches to remedying our present situations, it's far from enough. So WE need to explore and utilize the alternatives that are already out there. Some examples are: disciplined and frequent use of mass transit, using sustainable alternative fuels (which may mean dumping your gas guzzlers and going biodiesel or hybrid), improving our personal energy usage patterns in the home, recycling everything we can, sharing certain physical resources such as personal transportation and even lawn mowers, establishing local currencies to boost our local economies and keep more money in own communities, growing our own food from heritage, non-GMO seed stocks - perhaps in community gardens. These are just a few of the things WE can do. If WE don't do things like this and, instead, wait for some legislative mandate, I can pretty much guaranty we'll resent and resist those changes. WE have to be the vanguard demonstrating to our neighbors that WE can do it. On the electoral front, WE would do each of us on this list a great service by focusing more on implementing personal and cooperative actions than on preaching to each other. Otherwise this list is not much more than a place to vent and to verbally and intellectually please ourselves or, worse, dysfunctionally criticize those of us who are actually aligned. So this is an appeal to all of us to demonstrate cooperative attitudes and share our ideas about how we can actually achieve what we want as opposed to just dreaming about it. In some cases, that may mean not expecting our legislative representatives to make the necessary changes. If WE lead, those we elect will have to follow. In the legislative arena, we can start by sharing the online resources that streamline the effectiveness of our actions. For starters, are people on this list aware of the following Washington State Bills: 1) 2006 Senate Bill 6765 (Clean elections act) Also see: http://www.washclean.org/ 2) SHB 2738 / SSB 6508: Energy Independence through Renewable Fuels (See http://www.actionstudio.org/public/page_view_all.cfm?option=begin&pageid=678 4) 3) 2006 House Bill 2532 (Providing for election audits) These are just a few but if we're not signing these petitions and/or supporting the organizations trying to get these legislative actions passed, we're wasting our time typing on our keyboards.